As the days tick down to the birth of the first baby of Prince William and Kate Middleton, bookies are adding new “royal baby specials” to their offerings. And a wide range of baby-related memorabilia, from books to bibs, is appearing in shops across London.

Along with the more mundane wagers on the baby’s sex, weight, and name, Brits can bet on where the third-in-line-to-the-throne will go to university and whether the Duchess of Cambridge will be “too posh to push,” opting instead to deliver the baby via Caesarean section.

“If you can think of it, we’re taking bets on it,” said Rory Scott of Paddy Power, one of the United Kingdom’s biggest bookmakers.

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British punters are predicting the couple’s first child, due any time now, will be just 16 the first time he or she is caught by paparazzi leaving a boozy nightclub.

They’re also betting that the baby will grow up to be an artist, and odds are 33 to one that “her” first boyfriend will be a young man named Robert.

“Who’s going to be holding the baby outside the hospital? How many times will the camera-hungry Pippa Middleton make a dash in front of the paparazzi?” asked Scott. “These are all important questions.”

In a country that will bet on anything — Paddy Power currently has specials on how long celebrity relationships will last, the country where aliens will make first contact, and when the apocalypse is coming — it’s no surprise that every aspect of the royal baby’s future life has been reduced to odds.

“We’re British. It’s in our genes. Betting and the royal family — that and complaining about the weather — they’re about two or three of our most favourite things,” said Scott. “It just puts a smile on people’s face.”

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Scott said gamblers have already placed £300,000 worth of bets (almost $500,000) on royal baby-related predictions, which are shaping up to be one of the company’s biggest novelty markets of the year. Paddy Power expects bets to increase steadily in the coming days, “certainly as (Kate) is going into hospital,” said Scott. “Money’s pouring in by the pram load, that’s for sure.”

Londoner Craig Martin, 24, has his money on the baby being a girl named Victoria, with brown hair, to be born on July 20. “I’m sort of going on the old wives’ tale that the first baby is always a bit late,” said Martin. Betting on the royal baby, he added, brings a level of excitement that you don’t get from betting on sports.

If his predictions come true, Martin hopes to take a summer holiday with his winnings. “If everything comes to pass — it’s a long shot — I’m looking at 2,000 pounds. I’ve got my fingers crossed for Will and Kate. I hope they do me proud.”

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Royal baby fever naturally consumes British tabloids, but retailers are also active. “Kate Middleton gears up for royal baby birth with yoga lessons” and “Kate Middleton given CONDOMS from Finnish government to mark royal baby” are just some of the more bizarre headlines that have appeared in recent days.

The press has also reported on the economic boom the baby will bring to Britain, estimating that the royal birth will generate some £243 million ($380 million) in spending this summer, with one-third of that coming from the purchase of souvenirs. Some tabs report that even Prince Charles appears to be cashing in, by selling handmade leather baby shoes at Highgrove Shop, where profits from all sales are donated to The Prince of Wales’s Charitable Foundation.

Even though the name and sex of the baby have yet to be revealed, some retailers are selling commemorative souvenir mugs, plates, and keyrings, alongside more wacky items, such as royal-baby edition doughnuts with either pink or blue filling and a picture book by Martha Mumford titled Shhh! Don’t Wake the Royal Baby!

In Greenwich, specialty shop Beauty & the Bib has designed “bibs fit for kings” embroidered with golden crowns and phrases such as “Long May I Reign” and “I love my Uncle Harry.”

“We are trying to milk this baby for all its worth,” said Beauty & the Bib owner and director Lara Boyle with a laugh. Boyle has been designing and selling baby bibs since 2004. Her “I love my auntie” and “I love my uncle” design has long been a bestseller, so “just for a bit of fun,” she recently embroidered a few with a royal twist for her shop window.

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“We didn’t anticipate selling ‘I love my Auntie Pippa’ bibs unless someone had an Auntie Pippa,” she said – but they’ve sold surprisingly well. “Lots of people like memorabilia and they like to buy something that commemorates an event.”

Even if it’s with tongue firmly planted in cheek. British graphic designer Lydia Leith has continued her line of royal-themed sick bags for those who might literally throw up if royal baby buzz escalates further. The paper bags, screen-printed with an illustration of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge holding a newborn, follow Leith’s royal wedding sick bags that were a hit in 2011.

She has also created baby-themed mugs and paint-your-own wooden corgi dogs, in a nod to the Queen’s beloved pets.

“The sick bags are the bestsellers out of everything,” said Leith. “I think it’s (popular) because it appeals to people who are both for and against. The people who are for think it’s funny and they see the funny side of it, but then there are people who don’t like the royal family and they actually do feel sick.”